Electrical sensors have for decades been the standard mechanism for measuring physical and mechanical phenomena. Despite their ubiquity, these sensors have inherent limitations such as transmission loss and susceptibility to electromagnetic interference (noise) that make their usage challenging or impractical in many applications. Fiber-optic sensing is an excellent solution to these challenges, using light rather than electricity and standard optical fiber in place of copper wire.
The tremendous amount of innovation over the past two decades in the optoelectronics and fiber-optic communication industries has significantly reduced optical component prices and improved quality. By leveraging these economies of scale, fiber-optic sensors and instruments have moved from experimental research applications in the lab to broad usage and applicability in field applications such as structural health monitoring.